Hey ladies here is my take on this stage of life. Well we that are going thru it know it is everything a woman does not want in life in exchange for one thing most of do want. The end of that monthly problem is a wonderful blessing, of course there is chemistry to change that cycle. With it comes perhaps years of bloating, weight gain, hot flashes, hair growth, dryness, low libido, body aches, mood swings, and brittle bones.
Sounds like side effect on medicine. I have tried these wonder herbs, black cohosh, dong quai, and shatavari. The only result I found in my experience was a reduction of hot flashed using dong quai. I have had menopause about for 4 years now. The worse of all these symptoms I have is weight gain. Of course it piled up on me after my shoulder was screwed up in an auto accident. I have used bicycling to keep my weight in control because running is too hard on my knees. So far I have not been taking anything any more, just letting nature take it's course. I have been eating as healthy as possible and I keep walking as much as possible. I seen a health show years ago the, hosted by the author of the book, The Fungus Link, Doug Kaufman that berries especially red raspberries have elegiac acid that is great for peri and menopausal women. I tried some progesterone creams when I was in peri menopause, I really did not notice any difference in energy . I thought it would be a good idea if we could compare notes and opinions on this topic. In my honest opinion I don't believe enough honest research is done for this condition/stage of a woman's life to get much help from the medical community. In a day were profit is number one, keeping patients longer is more profitable for doctors. I always warn people, medicine is only a practice, not a definite science.